The present invention relates to apparatus for dispensing a plurality of similarly sized cylindrical objects from a conveyed set of holding tubes to a particular location.
The use of synthetic fibers for reinforcement in concrete is known in the art. For several years, fibers have been placed in disintegrating paper bags for easy disbursement into ready mix concrete trucks and central concrete mixers. Typically, the fibers are packaged in these paper bags because they allow for rapid distribution of the fibers. An example of a fiber packing apparatus is disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/551,183, filed Apr. 17, 2000, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD AND FOR PACKAGING FIBERS AND ARTICLE PRODUCED BY SAME and commonly assigned to the owner of the present invention. The fibers must be added in controlled amounts over a controlled period of time during the mixing process to ensure smooth and complete mixing. Improvements have been made in reducing the amount of paper required to contain the fibers but no efficient means has been developed to automatically and controllably dispense the product into a truck or central mixer. Various methods have been attempted but have not proven to be successful. The problems associated with these systems include small capacities, slow operation, inaccurate weighing and overall expense.
A screw type system holds few bags and operates like a candy vending machine. A screw type system holds a limited number of bags, is slow and not very efficient. It requires a great deal of room and moves slowly to avoid tearing the bags.
A weight loss system continuously weighs a volume of material contained in a hopper and dispenses the required amount of fibers to be blown into the truck or central mixer. In a weight loss system, the major problem has been the cost of the unit. The equipment required, scales, etc., are very expensive and not well suited for the dusty environment of a ready mix concrete operation. It would be desirable to have a system with vessels that would hold the pre-weighed bags of fiber and dispenses the required number of bags to meet the batching requirements.
A sausage-like system utilizes bags that are all continuously connected together. They are rolled up and placed in large boxes for storage. As the bags are pulled from the box, they are cut off and dropped onto a conveyor which feeds the truck or central mixer With sausage-like packaging systems it is very difficult if not impossible to efficiently and economically produce and package a bag that can be filled and handled. If the system breaks down, it would require conventional packaging to be used until it is repaired. This would require stocking several put-ups of the same product.
It would be desirable to have an individual closed loop track unit capable of holding individual tubes that are capable of holding said bags of fibers, counting the fiber bags and dispensing them onto a conveyor or into a blower for final dispersion into a mixer.
The present invention provides an apparatus for dispensing objects, each object contained in a transport tube, comprising: a housing comprising a frame; a track assembly for holding a plurality of tubes; a dispensing assembly, comprising a first ram for pushing one the object from the tube, a second ram for moving one the tube from a first position to a second position while preventing other tubes from interfering with the moving; indexing assembly for controllably permitting one tube at a time to move in response to movement from the second ram; and, a controller for controlling the dispensing assembly.
More particularly, the present invention provides, an apparatus for dispensing objects, each object contained in a transport tube, comprising a housing comprising a frame and a rollup access panel; a track assembly for holding a plurality of tubes, the track assembly comprising a pair of parallel spaced apart lengths of a rigid material arranged in a convoluted space; a dispensing assembly, comprising a first ram for pushing one the object from the tube, the ram having a distal end terminating in a disk associated therewith, a first powered cylinder for actuating the first ram, an advancing assembly for controllably permitting one tube at a time to advance to the dispensing assembly, comprising, a second ram having a distal end terminating in a curved section for holding a tube for moving one the tube from a first position to a second position along the track assembly; a generally flat horizontal plate associated and reciprocating with the first ram for preventing tubes disposed above the dispensing assembly from prematurely entering the dispensing assembly when the first ram is extending; a second powered cylinder for actuating the second ram, an indexing assembly for preventing movement of the tubes in a reverse direction, comprising, a first arm having a curved portion for releasably engaging a portion of a tube, a second arm having a curved portion for releasably engaging a portion of a tube, a rod connecting and maintaining the first and second arms in a generally parallel spaced apart relationship, at least one rod in which the sleeve is rotatingly disposed, the rod associated with the frame; at least one tube advancing assembly comprising a third ram, a third powered cylinder, a rocker bar having at least one third arm having a curved portion for releasably engaging a portion of a tube, a sleeve in which the rocker bar is at least partially disposed and a trough associated with the track assembly in which the rocker bar can reciprocatingly translate, means for controlling the dispensing assembly comprising a microprocessor; and, at least one sensor for detecting the presence of at least one of the objects.
In one embodiment the present invention incorporates a large number of tube sections manufactured from economical PVC pipe that are contained in a continuous track assembly. The bags are placed inside the tubes. The tubes are indexed forward by an air cylinder to a point where they can be discharges by another ram. At this point, the bags are discharged onto a conveyor, into the vortex of an air operated blower dispenser or other transport mechanism to deliver the fibers to their final destination. This allows for a very efficient utilization of space and simplifies the delivery of the product. The general components of an embodiment of the apparatus comprise the tubes, track assembly, cylinder (ram) to eject the bags, cylinder (ram) to assist and advance the tubes forward, an independent control unit to operate the system and count the bags, a photoelectric eye to indicate low volumes and the framework and housing to contain the track assembly.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention, when taken in conjunction with the appended claims.